Wishing Tree
by RegretNotForgetNot
Summary: What if you fall hard for someone without having met them at all? "I wish to meet my true love in front of this tree tomorrow at noon. Please. -Edward Cullen" was his wish, and Bella read it. I think it's "love at first note". ExB
1. Easy BPOV

Chapter 1, Easy

What if you fall hard for someone you barely knew? No, scratch that, what if you fall for someone without having met them at all?

**Wishing Tree**

**Chapter 1: Easy (Bella's POV)**

"I wish to meet my true love in front of this tree tomorrow at noon. Please. --Edward Cullen"

I'm in the courtyard of a mall, where there are trees adorned with lots of paper with strings attached. Wishing trees, basically. I've been reading other people's wishes for about 5 minutes now, until I saw that wish.

That was probably the sweetest thing I've ever read in my entire life. Most people would shrug it off as unrealistic, or just downright creepy, but I'm not most people. Was someone looking for love in the same way I was? A girl can only wish.

I, Isabella Swan, may be idealistic in dreams about love, but I am most certainly logical about meeting people… on most days.

Except today. Taking a new piece of clean paper with string, I decided to reply with a second "wish", and attached it to Mr. Cullen's string.

"Sorry I was late by a couple of hours, Mr. Cullen! How are you today? Yes, sounds lame, I know, but I didn't know any other way how not to sound creepy! Anyway, I'm Bella. Nice to meet you! I hope you reply. --Bella Swan"

I really hope that he doesn't think _I'm_ a creep for replying.

I then headed home, as this mall was only a 5 minute walk from my apartment. I got inside the confines of my perfect haven, and then proceeded to turn on my t.v. and laptop, still giddy about the reply. I saw my best friend Alice online on my messenger, and then just as I was about to send her a message, she beat me to the punch.

_**AliceWhitlock has sent you an IM. Accept? Deny?**_

**AliceWhitlock:** BELLAAAAAAAAAAAAAA I'm so BORED. Entertain me!

_Entertain her? Hmm, I knew just the way._

**Is.A.Bell:** Okay, umm… I met a guy today.

**AliceWhitlock:** really?! Spill! And yes, if you have a date with him, that calls for a MAKEOVER!!

_I cringed. Okay, not THAT entertained. _

**Is.A.Bell:** Well ok I haven't really met him.

**AliceWhitlock:** Whatcha mean? I hope you didn't say that just because you don't want a makeover!!

**Is.A.Bell:** Don't be ridiculous LOL of course not. Anyway, I replied to this note… wish, thing… you know the wishing trees by Fair Oaks avenue?

**AliceWhitlock:** uhh... yeah, by the mall... so what's his name?

**Is.A.Bell:** Edward Cullen

**AliceWhitlock:** LOL you SERIOUS?? His initials are… E.C? Hahaha, this guy's _easy!! _

_Right. I knew she was going to be skeptical about this. Much as my bestfriend's brain can be labeled as "idealistic", I didn't think this would cut it._

**Is.A.Bell:** …

**Is.A.Bell:** This coming from the girl who fell in love with a last name…

**Is.A.Bell:** and swears the guy she'll spend the rest of her life with will be determined by the said last name.

**AliceWhitlock:** Ok ok, I'm sorry - I was just kidding! I couldn't help myself lol

**Is.A.Bell:** Yeah, I know. I can't either!

**AliceWhitlock:** Touché haha

**AliceWhitlock:** LOL. I'll ttyl. Need to get to class!

**Is.A.Bell:** Don't get _too _bored without me.

**AliceWhitlock:** I can only try hahaha

_**Is.A.Bell has now signed out**_

Little did I know that in the same courtyard as of this moment, Mr. Cullen was reading my reply, and was replying to it while wearing the goofiest grin on his face ever.


	2. Masochistic Skeptic Of A Romantic EPOV

What if you fall hard for someone you barely knew? No, scratch that, what if you fall for someone without having met them at all?

**Wishing Tree**

**Chapter 2: Hopeless Masochistic Skeptic Of A Romantic (Edward's POV)**

I was just jogging again that one Sunday morning, and ended up in the same location as last week. And so, on a whim, I decided to check the wish I had originally put up like some desperate ad on eHarmony's website.

I honestly had to wonder, had I really become desperate?

Turning the corner of the Johnny Rocket's restaurant, I almost collided into some girl who was barely reaching my shoulders and looked so frail. Thankfully, I dodged her in time. She was so engrossed in her book (I had to glance, it was _Pride and Prejudice _by Jane Austen_)_, I don't think she saw me.

But I saw her. For what seemed like an eternity to me, was just a second in reality. _Ah, it lasted forever and ended so soon. _

Her complexion was that of ivory, just so creamy which contrasted beautifully with her soft brown hair, thick eyelashes and equally soothing brown eyes.

_Who is she?_

I fought the urge to ask for her name and… number. I didn't want to ruin this. No.

When was the last time I saw such beauty? Never… She was so utterly beautiful to me, and it was idiotic but I felt my knees weaken.

I sighed. _Jasper won't say it out loud, but Emmett will… saying I'm such a girl. _

I didn't want to hope anymore, if something was to happen, I wanted to leave it to fate. "_Third time's the charm," _I mumbled to myself, "_if I bump into her a third time _then_ I will do something about it"._

_Control yourself._

_Oh Emmett won't live this one down either… me actually not doing anything. _

I was clenching my fists hard, trying not to turn back and chase after her. It was then I saw it. Enough distraction it proved to be.

Someone replied.

"Sorry I was late by a couple of hours, Mr. Cullen! How are you today? Yes, sounds lame, I know, but I didn't know any other way how not to sound creepy! Anyway, I'm Bella. Nice to meet you! I hope you reply. --Bella Swan"

Huh.

I read the note which was attached to my original wish. I was somewhat dumbfounded due to the reply. _Bella… Bella_… The name was pretty, it had a nice ring to it. _Bella_. It just rolled off my tongue.

My lip twitched once, then I just couldn't help but grin - already semi-forgotten about the ordeal with the Brown Eyed Beauty. Was someone (else) really as willing to throw logic away as I was for this? To find this thing we can't hold, put in our pocket, or preserve in a jar called "love"?

I just hope they don't think _I'm_ a desperate fool, nor a creep. In my defense, I'm really not one to go around openly looking for "love" in this manner… but since it was only a wish, I thought why not?

My name is Edward Cullen. Lawyer by education, pianist by profession.

_And I'm going to be taking a lot of crap from my friends Jasper and especially Emmett… if they find out about what I did last week. And by crap, I mean being the butt of many and more jokes._

I was jogging down Colorado Boulevard that one morning last week. I ended up in the outdoor tourist shopping district called Old Town Pasadena; a nice neighborhood, not too crowded, yet lively enough even at this hour.

What I found was a secluded area by the cinemas which held an open courtyard full of small trees in pots. The trees were adorned with what looked like millions of pieces of paper. I quickly realized that they were actually _wishes._

I saw loads of unique ones. It was towards wish number 40 that I found out that people aren't as selfish as I thought they were. _Was there hope to find the right girl?_ I sure wanted to hope.

Despite the many Lauren Mallory's and Jessica Stanley's I had in the past, I wanted to hope.

A lot of people, surprisingly, wished for other's wishes to come true. More so, a lot of people wished for their most beloved's happiness instead. They were beyond heart warming gestures… all of a sudden I wanted to have someone whose wishes I wanted to grant so much for them.

This triggered a spark in me. I felt truly incomplete. I felt whole in a sense, yet there was something essential missing.

And I knew what it was. No, _who_ it was.

It was someone, and not just anyone. It was the girl I knew I loved, even though I hadn't met them yet. After all the disappointments with previous relationships, I understood one thing: there is certainly the one girl out there for me… _the one for keeps_. I knew I loved her more than myself… _no_, more than life AND myself. We just haven't met yet.

_Can I be selfish just this once? _ I asked, while looking at the bright blue sky. It wasn't that hot and bright yet.

I then turned and went to one of the tables which held the boxes for the wishing papers. I took one out and asked to meet my true love. Tomorrow.

All right, I wasn't really strict on the date for meeting them. But I wished sincerely. I just forgot to check last Monday. Oh well.

And back to today, someone replied!

I don't know why, but I was overjoyed. I wanted to reply, and I was going to… I took another piece of paper and started writing:

"_I'm honored to meet you, Ms. Swan. I'm very happy you replied! I forgive you for being late. As for making up to me, how do you say to keeping in touch sounds? - Mr. Cullen (9/29)"_

Adding the date is good. I want her to know when I replied. _I don't want to consider her as a stalker or creep._ At least not yet.

As I was hanging up the paper to her reply, I suddenly realized… the girl from earlier was coming from this way. She might have been the one to reply. I was so happy, I didn't know why. I wasn't one to fall for someone and just their appearances, and I wasn't about to start now… that left me feeling kind of irked at myself.

Quickly shaking off that feeling, I let myself wander in the courtyard.

I was still happy - goofy even that this thought occurred to me. Maybe the Brown Eyed Beauty was the one who replied! Ah, I could only wish.

As I was relishing that memory of the replier being the girl from earlier, some other dark haired person walked past me - but not before giving me a look that only looked like she was kind of constipated. Was that giving me the seductive look…? Never mind.

Just then my phone rang. I quickly answered it, only to be greeted by a calming voice.

"Hey Ed," It was definitely Jasper. "It's Jazz" And it was.

"Hey Jazz, 'sup? To what do I owe the honor of your call?" I replied happily. I was still in a happy mood from both the replier and the Brown Eyed Beauty.

"You sound happy! If Emmett were here he'd… definitely say you got some last night." He happily chirped. _Chirped_, seriously.

"You hang out with Emmett too much." I replied just as happily, my bubble was NOT going to be burst anytime soon. "All right, really, what's up?"

"What? Is it so wrong to call one of my best buds just to ask how their day was?" Jasper continued. Only to be followed by an "Ow!"

"…ow? You all right there?" I questioned. I should have been suspicious _right here_. But no, I wasn't. Ah, but my bubble was slowly deflating.

"Oh! That's nothing. Just tripped on a rug, kind of. So anyway, what's new, man?"

"Same as yesterday, Jazz. Except today, I got a reply from a girl. Do you remember about the wishing trees I told you about?"

"Yeah, where you put a PERSONAL LOVE PROFILE on, right?" Jasper wasn't sounding so Jasper-ey. Why….

"…yes. Jazz, are you sure you're okay?" I said, now I was worried.

"Yeah, I'm good. So what else happened?" Jasper continued.

"I bumped into this girl. She was absolutely gorgeous! But not just that, she was actually _reading a book_. I know that doesn't sound so great, but it was a classic! I don't see a lot of these girls actually reading things with substance nowadays."

"So you got her number? When do we meet her?" Jasper replied, sounding like an overprotective elder brother to a girlfriend.

I sighed in exasperation.

"Jazz, no meeting'll happen. I didn't even ask her name, let alone her number." I said with a definite hint of sadness in my voice.

"WHAT?! HAHAHAHAHA," said another booming voice, "ANYWAY, PAY UP, WHITLOCK! PAY UP! TWICE THE AMOUNT!"

"Twice?!" Jasper retorted, shock in his voice. "WHY TWICE?!"

_What was happening?!_

"Because Ed didn't get that chick's _number_. Oh wait, _not even her NAME! _That's just made of WIN right there!" Emmett only fell silent for a moment when Jasper hit the back of his head. "OW! What was that for?!"

"You play too much online games, Emmett… especially World of Warcraft. YOU. Are made. Of Fail. Totally pwned" Said Jasper, calmly. "And I'm not paying twice the amount."

"…so are you Jazz… online games got you hoooooked…" I could tell from the tone of Emmett's voice that he was pouting as he said this, but still stifling his laughter _at me_.

"…" I was silent for a moment, yes. Then I realized it.

"JASPER! YOU WERE ON SPEAKER PHONE WITH EMMETT?! NO! You TOLD him after I specifically asked you not to?! It was ONE little thing!" my jaw dropped open, and if it could hit the floor, it would.

"No shit, Sherlock." Emmett said without restraint. I just knew he was looking smug right now. "Sorry Eddie-poo."

"Sorry Ed… I kind of slipped… about the tree…." Jasper said, sounding apologetic.

"Aw man. Sheesh. Whatever, it's cool. So what is this bet about, Imbecile One and Imbecile Two? Or should I say Jaspy-poo and Emmy-poo?" I asked.

"NO!" Said Imbecile One and Two. "That's just gross, man," said Emmett, "okay it was my idea. I just wanted you to confess on your own, ever since Jazz told me. Or not deny, or something. Jasper kept saying you wouldn't admit it a second time, but I knew - know better - so now I'm one hundred dollars richer. HAH! Oh, sorry Ed, not you. You!"

I knew the last "HAH!" Was directed towards Jasper. And to this, I knew he rolled his eyes.

"Edward, why didn't you ask for that girl's name at least?" I knew Jasper was going to ask this. He sounded concerned.

"Because if we are destined to meet, we will. I'm giving it the old third-times-the-charm bit." I replied to Jasper trying to sound nonchalant, it was kind of working.

Emmett was the first to reply, and it wasn't as harsh as it could have been. "You're such a girl, Edward." Amusement and pity in his voice all at the same time.

Finally, Jasper continued, "Edward, you're a hopeless masochistic skeptic of a romantic."

"Sorry guys," I laughed, continuing small talk with my closest friends until closing my phone.

I then took a seat on the bench in the Alley which led to the courtyard, just beside the Gap store. I put my face into my hands, with my elbows standing on my thigh.

Was I still that much of a mess?

My friends knew what I had gone through already with girls in the past, and I've been an empty shell for 3 years now. Somewhat.

I wish for the girl I've never met to find me already, as I want to find her, too. Please.

**Author's notes:**

**I don't know if anyone caught it, but there was a song line in there. It's a song that's made me cry in the past, and everytime I hear it I still do lol I GIVE FREE MUFFINS AND STUFF TO THE ONE/S WHO CAN GUESS RIGHT! XD**

**Anyway. How are y'all likin the story? I'm likin it, cuz I'm addin a butt load of FLUFF. Yes. **

**Review pls? OMG LUV U ALL SOO MCH! HAHAHA hates typing like this**


	3. So Tired of Being Alone BPOV

Chapter 3, So Tired of Being Alone

What if you fell hard for someone you barely knew? No, scratch that, what if you fell for someone without having met them at all?

Wishing Tree

Chapter 3: So Tired of Being Alone (BPOV)

I, Bella Swan, to this day, have not yet felt what it is like to be completely enslaved by love. Sure, I've felt that skipped heart beat at the glance of a cute guy, or the momentary butterflies in your stomach when some other cute guy texts you. But see - those emotions at those instances seem so fleeting. Just upon sleeping them off one night, I feel their effects fading away as if they have never happened. Like I said, I'm a realist... constantly fighting for my hopeless romantic side.

If only that spine tingling, goosebump feeling could last. Or if I could bottle that. Do those people you want to kick who have public displays of eating each others faces feel that on a constant basis? Either way, they're still friggin annoying, I think.

I'm not saying I hope to be enslaved by love in any way, shape or form - no, that sounds pathetic. I am certainly not the type of girl that needs to be in a relationship at all times just to be sane... but as John Mayer goes:

I'm tired of being alone, so hurry up and get here.

Oh, also, I hope whoever you are, you are around six feet in height and have very nice muscles. So nice that I'd like to pinch them.

A week had passed and I barely (okay, if I'm being honest, I completely didn't) remembered/thought of the note I had left for the reply to my not so anonymous flirtatious notes with E.C., so when I was back in the vicinity of the wishing tree courtyard, I just had to check it out, hoping against all odds that if he agreed to meet, I hadn't yet passed the date!

It was 6 p.m., I was dead tired, so I decided to grab myself a tall cup of coffee at Starbucks...before another meeting at 7 p.m. But then I remembered the courtyard and before I knew it, my feet led me to the same spot as I was standing in a week prior.

"I'm honored to meet you, Ms. Swan. I'm very happy you replied! I forgive you for being late. As for making it up to me, how do you say to keeping in touch sounds? - Cullen (9/29)"

"Crap," I mumbled to myself. Another late reply! But better late than never I suppose...so here goes...

"Apologies again, Mr. Cullen. But yes, I would like to stay in touch... hopefully through e-mail? Send me a note on 72567  if that's alright, but if I don't hear from you, I'll understand... we can just keep in touch here, too. Looking forward to this. -Swan (10/6)"

I don't know why, but I'm really excited about this. I'm pretty sure I look crazy smiling to myself, because I am, as I re-read my writing. I'm actually getting butterflies all over.

Or I'm just really bored in general that any small thing excites me. I really hope this isn't the case.

And with that, I ventured onto my meeting for 7 p.m. with a new client - some Mr. Whitlock or what not. See, it's fun being a blogger... I generally work from home. But that also means my schedule is all over the place...and I'm usually alone writing. Alone. By myself. With me.

People apparently like my interviews though, so I accept promotional gigs now and then and interview up and coming local young entrepreneurs so people can check out their insert-establishment-of-choice-here. It's pretty intense, I mean, I'd already interviewed some guy wanting to open up a smoke shop that also sells Victorian style dresses. He opened shop last week... and now he sent me a 2 dozen red rose bouquet as a thank you for the crazy hordes of people his shop has received. He's also mentioned about starting a coffee shop on the side, which I really think is an insane idea. But what can I say? I'm just the messenger. I'd like to fancy myself a positive and nice Gossip Girl. With less expensive shoes.

As I was entering this ultra hipster coffee shop called Intelligentsia Coffee, I just barely caught site of this guy with the nicest profile ever. Dark brown but still copper-ish looking hair, shaggy. Thick and long eyelashes I would kill for. Seriously, how is that fair? He's a guy! Ohh...and possibly six feet tall with impeccable muscle tone. I'm guessing on the last part, but I can definitely tell he isn't pudgy, just toned mildly so. He was leaving through the back entrance.

But those eyes. Even from his profile, I can tell they're a vibrant green. You know, like you can barely look into them because you feel like you'll freak out cause they're so...so..striking?

I wish I saw his face up front.

Oh yeah, I was walking. Damn you, pretty man upon profile view of your pretty eyes and physique.

"Hi, you must be Mr. Whitlock." I raised my hand to the nice young man with seemingly southern gentlemanly manners. How cute.

"Why yes, ma'am. I MUST be Jasper Whitlock... all the time, actually. Nice to meet you, Ms. Swan." Nice grin he had, relaxed.

I almost un-femininely laughed my ass off with a donkey guffaw, thankful for my good mouth filter. This meeting was looking good so far.

Author's note:

Sorry for the four year delay. ;) More soon, at a faster pace. Adieu, loves.


End file.
